Whilst in the middle of managing an emergency is not the best time to be rehearsing your skills in Decision Making or Decision Recording.  Both skills form part of an integrated emergency management process and both have to be taught. 

Category 1 Responders under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004; it’s the law.

Remember this….

‘Judgement’ will always be made with hindsight and nearly always with more information available at the time – fact.  The use of analytical risk assessment, decisions making models and decision recording will prepare you and your managers for any future investigation and possible trial or inquiry.

Legal outcomes are not based on ‘truth’ but on ‘proof’ (Griffith, 2007).  Furthermore, we should all be familiar with the old adage:

‘If it’s not written down; it didn’t happen.’

Decision Making & Psychology of Command

Decisions are something we make just about every moment of our waking day but rarely do they have to be made whilst trying to assimilate masses of information, and rarely do they have such potential consequences.  So yes we do make decisions, but how do we extract the useful, timely, pertinent, legal and moral information to make sound decisions during an emergency and how do we recognise the misleading and inaccurate information?

All of the Emergency Services rely on a decision making model and following the publication of the Coroner’s Report on the 7/7 London bombings they all now use the same under the Joint Emergency Services Inter-operability Programme (JESIP).  TCS can create a model that is appropriate to your needs and reflect the model of the responding Emergency Services.  This will provide a process and consistency for decision making for your Emergency Managers.

TCS offers you a wealth of emergency management experience along with a technical analysis tool.  This combination provides the perfect opportunity for your Emergency Managers to experience decision making a very realistic but safe environment.  Furthermore, the analysis tool will provide students with immediate feedback on their performance. 

Decision Recording

There is a significant difference in taking formal minutes at a meeting and recording critical decisions during an emergency.  The eminent Solicitor Advocate, Mark Scoggins (LLP) is very clear in his advice ‘If it is not written down, then it did not happen’  With that in mind, recording decisions and the rationale for taking that decision are critical and most central to any subsequent debrief, inquiry or trial.  All decisions must be recorded contemporaneously or not exceeding 24 hours after that decision was taken.

The role surrounding recording those decisions is ostensibly one of an administrators but remember, these are your decisions and must be supported with the rationale as to why a course of action was taken or was not taken.

TCS delivers training in both Decision Making and Decision Recording.  TCS can offer you a decision making process and decision recording format that will support your business during an emergency and provide the security and assurance needed in any future debrief or investigation.